


afterglow

by The_Empress_of_Everything



Series: per deim [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Captain America Fusion, Alternate Universe - Marvel Cinematic Universe Fusion, Captain America - Freeform, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, Iron Man - Freeform, winter soldier - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 00:15:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13601484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Empress_of_Everything/pseuds/The_Empress_of_Everything
Summary: afterglow: noun1. the pleasant remembrance of a past experience, glory, etc.2. the glow frequently seen in the sky after sunset; afterlight.(Because after he fell, there was no more happiness.)





	afterglow

“This just in: the Kage Summit being held in Tetsu no Kuni was bombed by a mysterious figure, suspected to be the Red Soldier, formerly affiliated with Konoha. As of now, it is unclear whether there have been any casualties. This just in-”

It was hard to tune out the drone of the television set. They had it always going in this strange future, this modern era. As if afraid of what the silence would bring. Like the monster from underneath the bed would emerge and consume them all. Her fingers dug into the leather of her suit. It crackled under her monstrous strength.

In and out, in and out. 

_It wasn’t him. He’s been dead for years. He couldn’t have done this._

_It wasn’t Sasuke._

_It couldn't be._

“Captain?” The flunky from ANBU watched her nervously. They were all nervous around her. The rumors from the last war still hung about her like a cloud of infamy. Stories of storming bases, decimating enemy forces with nothing more than her fists and a circle of brightly painted metal.

( _He’d always laughed at her shield, in his own strange way. She didn't need any more of a target on her back, he would say, her hair did all the work for them._

_He had been punched for being a smartass more times than either of them could count. He’d probably laugh himself sick at seeing her treated with such frightened reverence. He, of course, held none of that reverence. And for that she was grateful._

_They had taken happiness where they could during that cruel war. She was glad of it at the time._

_Because after he fell, there was no more happiness._ )

With a shaky inhale, her thoughts were grounded, dragged back to the present from the mists of the past. She rose, all fluid lines and grace. The shield leaning casually against the bench was slotted onto her back, a movement as easy as breathing for her. 

“Time to get to the bottom of this,” she breathed.

* * *

For a moment, she studied her reflection in the mirror. 

The mirror hadn't been her friend as a child. Always pointing out her flaws; her gaunt face, her wide forehead, her unnaturally colored hair, her waifish body. Always ill as a child. Always lagging behind. But making up for it with her incredible intelligence. 

He had never mocked her for her lacking physical strength. He had supported her, carried her through life, been her best friend when she needed one most.

Until Sound had ripped him away from her.

Behind her, he was reflected in the mirror. Devastatingly handsome and quietly tragic in a sort of twisted, romantic way, he'd turned heads wherever he’d gone. She was his faithful shadow, always hiding behind him. Now, though…

The serum had altered _everything_. Everything except her bright pink hair.

Taller, broader, faster, stronger. She was a stranger in her own body.

She could still remember the look on Sasuke's face when he saw her again post-serum. For a heartbeat, she was terrified he would cry, but his Uchiha heritage came through. He’d simply touched a lock of hair, still unchanged, and sighed. 

And that was that.

After he fell, before the crash, she'd accumulated scars that hadn’t vanished. When she woke up, ANBU had offered to heal the ones on her face. Probably wondering if she was a vain woman who couldn't bear to have a marred face. 

Sakura refused. 

He had traced her scars. With a wondering sort of sadness. Mournful but oddly proud. He knew what she had gone through to get these scars.

And now. 

He was missing an arm. Flesh replaced with cold metal by the mechanics of Sound. 

What atrocities had he committed with that arm?

And why, oh why, could she so easily forgive him?

* * *

“ _HE KILLED MY PARENTS, SAKURA!_ ” Naruto’s face, normally so jovial, was white with unbridled rage. “ _He killed my parents and you’re siding with him?_ ”

“It wasn’t him, Naruto!” She screamed back. With his enraged state, it was harder to predict where he would attack. Already a difficult opponent, rage only made him stronger. “It was all Orochimaru! It wasn’t Sasuke! Blame Orochimaru!”

“Well he’s already dead so Sasuke is the next best thing!” The blur of blows he and her former partner exchanged would have been too fast for her to keep up with, had she still been unenhanced. She hung back. Watching for the right moment to strike.

Naruto would never forgive her for what she was about to do.

* * *

They stood on the cliff overlooking the city. A favorite haunt of theirs from times long since passed into memory.

They made their choice. Come hell or high water, they would stand by it.

In the faint afterglow left by the sun, Sakura slipped her hand into Sasuke’s. 


End file.
